John 16:22 "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."
These are the words of the most wonderful Comforter. He knows our hearts and minds. He shares our joys and He comforts our sorrows. Many wonderful things were spoken of Him in the Old Testament. Let's be reminded of a few of these just now.
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4)
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me
to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted..." (Isaiah 61:1)
"For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my
darkness." (Psalm 18:28)
The list goes on and on, but in today's text Jesus speaks specifically of His
ability to soothe our sorrows. He acknowledges the fact that we all have times
of sorrow, disappointment, and discouragement in our lives. But He also gives
us the remedy. "I will see you again." On the night Jesus spoke
those words, the disciples were indeed disappointed and filled with sorrow. He
was leaving them. They had fully depended upon Him and now He was
leaving. But Jesus left them with a promise: "I will see you
again."
There are times in our lives when all we have to hold onto is a promise.
In times of darkness, we hold that promise close to our hearts. In times of
heartache, we hold that promise to our hearts. We sometimes are like the men on
the ship with Paul as he was going to Rome. "They cast four anchors out of
the stern, and wished for the day." (Acts 27:29) There are times we
have done all we know to do and then we must wait. These men had a
promise they had to hold onto for the next three days, "I will see you
again." But those next three days certainly were a time of sorrow for
them.
"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a
tree of life." (Proverbs 13:12) These men had to hold to the very
One Who had seen them through some difficult times. They had to hold to His
promise to see them again. They must have been heartsick for those three
days, but Sunday was on the way! "Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5) You have sorrow now.
Darkness has overtaken you. BUT I will see you again. Your heart shall rejoice.
No man can take that joy from you. What a blessed assurance the Lord
Jesus gave to His disciples. But let us be assured this morning that those same
promises belong to us as well. In our darkest hour, in our time of sorrow
and pain, Jesus will show Himself to us in a wonderful way. Yes, weeping
may endure for a night time, BUT joy comes in the morning. Jesus said it.
I believe it. How about you?
I love the words to the beautiful hymn by John Newton:
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.